Return To Kanto
by momoli
Summary: Ash and Brock return to Kanto, without Dawn. What new adventures and friends will their old home bring, and will they ever go back to Sinnoh? Brock/OC, Ash/Misty, Gary/OC
1. Return to Kanto: Pallet Town

*(This is the beginning of my Return To Kanto series, where Dawn stays in Johto and Ash and Brock return home to Kanto. Their journey doesn't end, however, because Kanto is stocked with all new adventures and the Gyms are ready to be re-challenged)*

"Are you sure you want to stay, Dawn?" Ash asked pleadingly. He didn't want to leave behind another friend. After Misty and May, he didn't want Dawn to fall out of touch, smiled, hopeful.  
"I'm sure," Dawn smiled back, "I still have a lot of training to do here!"  
"You could train in Kanto, too, you know.."  
"Yeah, I'm sure there are tons of new contests over in Kanto!" Brock chirped. Though he would miss Dawn as well, he wasn't as distraught over it as Ash. They had seen both Misty and May after the two of them had gone their ways, of course they'd see Dawn again. Pikachu stood in front of Piplup, waving it's arms around.  
"Pika chu! Pika pika ka!"  
Dawn laughed. "Aw, Pikachu, I'm sorry, but there are things left for me here, in Sinnoh." Her mother, Johanna, walks up behind her. "You guys will always be able to call, there are ways to keep in touch!" she says cheerfully. Dawn nods. "We won't really be apart! We'll see each other soon for sure!"  
Ash shrugs. As excited as he was to go back home, he really didn't want to possibly be forgotten. "Of course. I'll call as soon as I get home!"  
Dawn jumps at him with a hug. After a minute of standing, arms around each other, Dawn is the first to let go. She steps back, "I'll sure miss you guys."  
Ash and Brock nod in unison. "We'll miss you too, Dawn."  
"Good luck with everything," Brock says, "we'll be rooting for you!"  
Dawn smiles, and they both smile back. Hopefully they would see each other again, someday.

* * *

It was warm in Kanto. Flowers had taken over the trees and gardens of Pallet Town, and it made the return home much more exciting.  
Brock puts his hands behind his head, stretching. "Wow, it's absolutely beautiful!"  
Ash nods enthusiastically. It would have been great if Dawn could be here to see the blooms.

"Ash! Honey!" they hear, walking up to Ash's house. His mother runs out, arms open, smiling.  
"Mom!" Ash says, being engulfed by a huge, welcoming hug. "Brock, hello dear!"  
"Hello!" Brock says in return. "Beautiful weather!"  
"It really is," Ash's mom says, "we've all been loving it here." She looks them both up and down. "My, you two have grown up so much! Come in, we'll have lunch!"

Sitting at the table, Ash's mom presents them with a plate of sandwiches, and the boys dig in. Ash gives a sandwich to Pikachu.  
Delia laughs. All three were such classic boys, chowing down everything within seconds.  
"I invited Professor Oak over," she says, having forgotten, "he should be around soon.. I knew he wouldn't want to miss seeing you, Ash, it's been a while since he saw you last!"  
Ash nods, "Yeah, it has!" He says, mouth full of ham and cheese. "How have you been, Mom?"  
"I've been well, thank you dear," she sits down with them. "Though, it would be nice to see you more. Won't you maybe come home to visit more often?"

"Ash!" they look up. In the doorway stands Professor Oak, hands on his hips. "Is that you?"  
Ash stands up, "Hey Professor!"  
"Your mom told me you had come home, I can't believe my eyes! It's been quite some time." he squints. "Is that the Pikachu I gave you?"  
Pikachu jumps up. "Pi!"  
Ash smiles, "Yeah, of course it is!"  
Professor Oak nods. "That's great. How is your Pokedex coming? Anything interesting found on your adventures?"  
"Tons!" Ash shouts. "There's so much out there, it's incredible! I've learned so much about Pokemon while travelling!"  
Pikachu jumps again in agreement.

Ash begins rambling on to Professor Oak about all his encounters, and it was if his sorrows of leaving were gone.

* * *

**BROCK POV  
**_We got to Pallet Town today. Met up with Ash's mom and Professor Oak, and they all talked and reminisced. I didn't have too much input because they've all known each other longer than I've known any of them, so I put in my two cents every once in a while. I feel out of place here, it's just not my scene I guess. Soon we'll be leaving for Pewter City, hopefully, and then I'll get to see how everyone there is doing.  
__Ash is happy being here, I can see it, though he's kind of different around his mom. I would assume he would be, since no one is the same around their mom.. They both really love each other a lot.  
__We were talking about Misty earlier, about how she doesn't even know we're back in Kanto. Hopefully she'll be around in Cerulean when we travel through, but even if she isn't, I think Ash would make it a point to find her anyway.  
__He's brought up Dawn all day. I think he's having a tough time having to leave so many friends all the time.  
__I can say easily that I'm so glad to be home. Well, home as in Kanto. All I can say is, I hope that things are well in Pewter City. I'm not too sure what else I could possibly do for my family or that town, and the gym.. Mom better not have turned it into a mess.. who knows what she's done in there by now._

_I'm so excited to see everyone again, especially the new ladies I have yet to meet. I wouldn't mind making a few new friends._

**DELIA POV  
**_Ash is back. He came home today. It's relieving, knowing he's alright, that he's now safe at home again, but I know he'll be out the door first chance he gets. No one can slow that boy down. It's upsetting to me, because, well, I'd like to see my son. And, I get that he's young, that he's on his adventure, exploring, out on his Pokemon quest, but, still, I do expect a call every once in a while. I don't even get that. It's frustrating. Every time I bring it up, he just disregards anything I say. He nods his head and says "Alright Mom", but will I get a call when he reaches Viridian City, or any time after that? Of course not._  
_I'm tempted to tie him up and tell Brock to go on without him, that he's not allowed to leave home anymore.I miss my little boy.

* * *

_

As much as the boys liked it in Pallet, they knew they couldn't stay forever. Their new adventures throughout Kanto awaited them, and they were eager to get going. Viridian City, though previously gym-less since the explosion long ago from Ash's battle with Team Rocket, still held its own mysteries. Was a gym rebuilt? Would there be a real gym leader this time, or was the last gym permanently closed? And the mystery remained, why was Team Rocket at that gym anyway?  
After many promises to return back to Pallet before they left Kanto, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu finally made their way out and on their way toward the Viridian Forest.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***I'm terribly sorry this is so short, but I wasn't entirely sure about making a Pokemon series. I will, of course, update if I keep writing this. Thanks for reading guys! xo***


	2. Viridian City

The path to Viridan City was short, just a few short miles away. The last time they were here, Ash battled Team Rocket for the Earth Badge. Why were they even at that gym? Were Jesse and James really the leaders of that gym?  
It was peculiar, didn't seem right. But, that didn't really matter now, to Ash, as they accidentally exploded the gym. He and Brock planned to make a quick trip through Viridian and head toward the forest.

"Excited to be visiting Pewter soon, Brock?"  
Brock nodded. "You bet I am. I'm just hoping my father kept his promise to uphold the gym as a purely Rock type gym.."  
"Yeah, I remember what you told me about what happened with your mom. Well, at least you had Forrest on your side there, I'm sure he reminds your dad everyday."  
Brock laughs, "Yeah, that's true. That kid is so passionate. It makes me really proud, and glad he's not into Water pokemon.."  
"So," Brock continues, "you gonna challenge the Pewter Gym Leader while we're there?"  
Ash shrugs. "I guess! I mean, I made pretty quick work out of the last one.."  
Brock shoves him, "Yeah right! I gave you that badge. You had an advantage."

Pikachu pulls on Ash's pant leg. "Piiika.." he points to a small restaurant. "Piiiii.."  
"Oh! Are you hungry Pikachu?"  
Pikachu nods, "Cha!"  
"Yeah, I could sure use a bite to eat before we hit the Viridian Forest." Brock adds.  
They make their way toward the restaurant, stomachs growling.

The boys take their seat at a booth, Pikachu next to Ash and Brock by himself across from them. Brock pulls some food out of his backpack for Pikachu, who accepts graciously, knowing he'll also get some of Ash's food. Ash already knew what he wanted.  
"Wow, I can't wait to have the biggest cheeseburger right now," he said, "I feel like I haven't had one in ages!"  
Brock, head down, is looking at the menu still. "I'm not really sure what I want.."  
"How about the pulled pork?" he hears, and looks up. His heart stops at the sight of the angel in front of him. Light brown hair all tied in a bun aside from a bit of bang wisped across her forehead, sparkling green eyes bore into his soul. As soon as his jaw dropped, he threw it back up, but not before she noticed. She giggled. "Hello. I'm your server today. The pulled pork is very popular here, I hear great things."  
"Would recommend it personally?" he asked, lowering his voice to sound suave. He raised an eyebrow.  
The girl made a face that would frighten even the ghastliest of Gengars. "Oh gosh, definitely NOT. I would NEVER eat it."  
She immediately covered her mouth, and laughed. "Not because it's gross or anything. Well, I mean, it is, to me, I don't eat meat."  
"WHAT!" Ash exclaims. He slams his hands on the table. "You DON'T eat meat?"  
The girl shrugs. "I never have. I'm strictly herbavore."  
"That's incredible," Brock says, scooting closer to where she was standing at the end of the table. "It must take so much dedication to refrain from such things."  
"Not really," she shrugs again. "It just doesn't look good to me." She looks down at him. "So? Do you want that?"  
Brock moves back to his spot, realizing she wasn't catching on. "Uh, sure, I guess I'll have the pulled pork."  
"Alright. Burger and pulled pork with a side of fries, it'll be up soon."  
"Wait, uh, we didn't order fries.." Ash says, confused. The girl smiles. "Yes, I know. It's on the house." and walks away.  
Ash kicks Brock's leg under the table after noticing where he was staring.  
"Ow! What was that for?"  
"Stop that!"  
"Stop what?"  
"Staring at her ass," Ash says quietly, leaning in, "you're not very discreet."  
"Neither is her perfection.." Brock looks back at her, talking to another waitress. Pikachu rolls his eyes. "Piiika.."  
"Yeah, Brock, you say that about every girl we've ever come across."  
"Yeah, but, I mean, look at her." Brock looks at him. "I think she's into me."  
Pikachu drops to the floor. Ash furrows his eyebrows. "I don't think so, bud.."  
"Well, even if she isn't. She could be. I could make it happen. C'mon. I can."

Pikachu climbs back up onto the seat, and sits. This conversation was a little ridiculous.  
"If you say so.." Ash says, and lets his eyes wander about the restaurant. It was a cozy place, well lit, all the windows let in a ton of light, all lined with booths, and tables in the center. It was all one big room, on one side the cash register and a small bar. Behind it was the door to the kitchen, where he could see a waiters and waitresses flow in and out. He had been here before; they really did have the best pulled pork. It wasn't dry, like most places, and they gave you a large bun to make a sandwich with it.  
It was unbelievable that a person could choose not to eat meat. How could you live without cheeseburgers? Juicy, succulent cheeseburgers. Steak, chicken, ham and turkey. What did she eat? Grass? It's impossible to just not eat meat. That was crazy. She must be insane. There was no way Ash could live without meat. It was the best part of any meal, the greatest thing to ever put into your mouth. The only section of the food pyramid that mattered beside sweets.  
Grains weren't bad either. Without the grains section, you would have no bun.  
Meats were still the top section.

"Alright," the girl returned with a large platter. "One cheeseburger for you," she put the plate down in front of Ash. Pikachu popped his head up, startling the girl, causing her to drop the tray, spilling the food all over the place. Pulled pork flew everywhere.  
"Oh Christ," she said under her breath, "just my luck." she crouched down, picking up the tray. Brock jumped out of his chair and onto the floor faster than lightning, picking up the plates for her. They stood at the same time, food at their feet. He handed her the plates. "Here," he said, smiling. She smiled back, "I'm so sorry you guys, your Pikachu came out of no where!" she laughed. "I'm sorry about the food," she looked at Brock, "I'll be back with more in two seconds, on the house." she scurried away.  
By the time Brock sat down, Ash was finished with his burger. He and Pikachu licked their lips and belched in unison. A man in an apron came over, and started to clean the mess on the floor.  
"I feel bad Pikachu scared her," Ash said. "I mean, sometimes when I look at 'em, I get scared too, but I didn't think she got that good of a look at his face!" he started laughing. Pikachu growls, and shocks him.  
Ash's face, charred, and hair sticking up everywhere, made the girl laugh again when she came back. "Hahaha! Did the burger's greatness shock you?" she laughed again at her own joke, handing Brock his plates of pork and fries. Pikachu laughed with her. "Cha ha ha!"  
"Aw! He is too cute! It is a boy, right?" she asks, kneeling down. Pikachu gets angry with this question, furrowing his eyes. "Pikaa.."  
Ash pats him on the head, making him happy again. "Yeah, he's my bud."  
"Hi, Pikachu, it's nice to meet you." She smiles. Pikachu smiles back, and extends his hand to shake. She shakes it with the three fingers that surround his whole hand.  
"Chaaa-aaa!"  
She stands again, "Well, I'll leave you to finish, just call me over whenever you want me to clean up!" once again, she walks away, and Ash follows Brock's eyes to her backside. He kicks him again. "Stop that!"

Brock sighs, taking the last bite of his pulled pork sandwich. He and Ash begin eating the fries.  
"So," Brock starts, "what's the agenda, do you think? Where are we headed after Pewter?"  
"Well, we have to stop in Cerulean City. Misty would kill us if she found out we were home and didn't go visit her." Pikachu jumps up, excited.  
Brock nods. "Good point. Then what?"  
"Not really sure." He shrugs. "I guess see where things take us. I would eventually like to get to go everywhere again in Kanto, and revisit everything. It's been a long time, you know?"  
Brock nods again. "It really has. It feels like it's been ages since we've both been home."

Pikachu relaxes in the booth, stomach full. "Stuffed, Pikachu?" Ash inquires. Pikachu nods, eyes closed.  
"Yeah, I'm pretty stuffed myself." Brock says. They were halfway done with the fries. Ash pops a few more into his mouth before waving his arms frantically to get the waitress's attention. She skipped over happily. "Finished guys?"  
The nodded. She smiled at Brock. "How was the pulled pork?"  
"Amazing," Brock grinned back, "you should try it sometime."  
She rolled her eyes playfully, walking away. Brock didn't watch her this time. He looked at Ash. "Do you think she would give me her number?"  
"_What_?" Ash exclaimed, looking at him as if he had five eyes. "Are you crazy? She's a waitress at some restaurant."  
"So? _Look at her!_"  
"I'm sure you'll see someone you think is much better." Ash says. He looks over just as she is walking toward their table, check in hand.  
"You can pay this at the register. Thanks for coming, guys, have a great night." she nods, and walks away after giving Ash the check.  
They pick it up, pay at the register, and leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Brock sighs, feeling a bit shot down. That girl was beautiful. Her emeralds were etched into his mind. Incredible.  
Maybe he should go back. Not act so infatuated, but ask if she'd like to go out sometime. Exchange numbers. Give him a call or something.  
He shook it out of his mind. They weren't sticking around, there was no point. Plus, Ash was right; he saw girls all the time. Maybe another will come by to make his heart race like it took two seconds for her to do.  
What was going on with him? This was weird. Usually when he wanted a girl, he either got her for a night or didn't. They were all hot, but, she wasn't even like that. She wasn't plain old hot like the rest. She was different. Uniquely gorgeous. Looking into her eyes (even if it was for just a moment) was like getting lost in a tropical rainforest, and never wanting to find your way out.  
_Whatever. Forget about it, Brock. You'll never see her again anyway._

"Woah! Brock, Pikachu, look!" Ash points straight ahead. In front of them was a newly erected, differently built, Viridian Gym.  
"Wow, that looks awesome." Brock says, enthused. Pikachu jumps up, small sparks coming from his cheeks. Ash laughs. "Wanna go check it out, Pikachu?"  
Pikachu nods. "Piiiikaaaaaa!"  
The boys shrug, why not? They head up to the doors, and as before, two large guards stood blocking the way.  
"No entry." one grunts. Ash stomps a foot. "Not again! I want to challenge the leader of this gym!"  
"Do you have all the Duo Kanto badges?" The other grunts in reply. Ash is taken aback. Duo Kanto bages? What the hell were those?  
"Uh, Duo what?" Brock asks, puzzled himself. The guards laugh at them. "Children." one says. The other looks down at them. "No entry until all Duo badges are presented. Until then, get the hell out of here."  
Pikachu growls. "Piiii.." sparks begin to fly everywhere before Ash tells him to stop. "No point in sticking around here. I guess we'll just have to figure out what these Duo Kanto badges are, then.."  
They look around. It had begun to get dark outside. There was no way they'd make it through the Viridian Forest before the sky was completely black, and there was no way he was going to get stormed by Beedrill again, especially in the dark. It made him think back to the first time he went through that forest, when his Metapod, the first pokemon he ever caught, was stolen by a wild Beedrill, and got so mad at him that it refused to go back into his pokeball, when finally found. That was before the Beedrill swarmed again, and both Ash and Metapod showed how much they cared. That was when Metapod evolved, into Butterfree. He missed his Butterfree.  
_I hope he's doing great._

Still not going into that forest at this hour. They had to find somewhere to stay the night. There weren't any friends they had in Viridian, so they popped into the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy was pleased to see them. "Hello! Welcome to the Pokemon Center!" she smiles. Brock drools over her beauty, and immediately runs up to the front desk. "Hello, Nurse Beautiful- I mean Joy, my apologies, I'm very tired tonight.. I hope you're doing well, you're looking wonderful."  
Nurse Joy smiles again, and nods. "Why, thank you sir, can I help you with something?"  
Ash walks up to them, and steps on Brock's foot behind the desk, as Joy can't see. Brock snaps back into reality. "We were wondering," Ash starts, "if there was any way we could spend the night here. We don't really have anywhere to stay tonight, but we can't go through Viridian Forest when it's this dark.."  
Nurse Joy hops up. "Absolutely! Just come this way, please." She begins to walk down the hallway, and her Chansey follows. "Follow me!"  
"Chansey!" she waves her small arms as she bops behind Joy. The boys all follow as well.  
They get to a small room, and Joy turns the lights on. There sat two beds on either side of the room, blankets and all.  
"You can only stay here one night, as we usually lend this room to people who don't have homes." says Joy. "But, no one has come forth to ask, so, you're both welcome to stay the night."

Ash and Brock both nod. "Thanks so much." Brock says. Nurse Joy and Chansey smile in unison. "Have a good night you two." she says, turn, and walk away, Chansey at her heels.  
"You as well!" Brock shouts back, and Ash rolls his eyes. "What?" Brock asks.  
"Told you that you'd find someone else to swoon over."  
Brock didn't forget about that girl from the diner. Right? Of course Joy was beautiful, how could he not tell her she was? That'd be like lying, even though no one asked him to say the truth. Both the girl from the diner and Nurse Joy were beautiful, but in completely different ways.  
He chose a bed and flopped onto his back, sighing. Ash got into the other bed, Pikachu curled up at the foot, cuddling a blanket.  
Brock lets his mind wander. Thoughts of that girl, of Nurse Joy, of Pewter City. What was it like? How was the gym? How were his parents, his brothers and sisters? How was Forrest, mostly, was he still chasing after girls, like he was the last time Brock came to town? Was he up right now, thinking about a girl just as Brock?

Her eyes were amazing.

Ash starts to snore. Brock looks over, seeing both Ash and Pikachu drooling, dead asleep. He sighs, gets up, and turns off the light. Getting back in bed, he pulls the blanket to his chin. He often went to bed alone, not always, but often, and he drifted off to sleep wishing the diner girl was beside him.

"Chansey Chans!"  
The pokemon's call jostled Brock out of his slumber. He looked out the window. The sun had already come up. He looks over to the bed on the other side of the room. Ash was already dressed, sitting up with Pikachu. Nurse Joy was standing in the doorway. Brock blushes.  
"Sorry to have to throw you guys out the door," Joy says to Ash, "but I'm really not supposed to let people sleep all day here. Sort of the rules around here." she laughs, though nothing she said was at all funny. Ash nods. "It's alright. We have to make an early start anyway. Gotta get to Pewter as soon as we can."

_Oh yeah, Pewter. _They were leaving Viridian today. Nurse Joy turns and leaves, Chansey following. Once she's gone, Brock jumps out of bed, having tried to hide what would have probably caused Nurse Joy to physically toss them out.  
"Ahhhh," Brock sighs, "seems like a beautiful day."  
"Yeah, a beautiful day you were sleeping through. I couldn't wake you up!"  
"I was having a nice dream." An inappropriate dream, as usual, hence not jumping out of bed with Joy in the room. Girls like her, probably would have sued for sexual harrassment.  
"Ready to go get some breakfast?" Ash cracks his knuckles. Pikachu jumps up, signaling _he_ was ready to eat. Brock nods, picking up his backpack. "Let's go."

They bid adue to Joy, walking outside into the crisp air. They all take a deep breath, taking it in.  
"Amazing." Brock says.  
"You can say that again."  
"Chaaaaaaa."  
"To the diner?" Brock asks, and Ash gives him a look that read _Are you serious?_, but shrugs. "Sure, I guess."

They walk down the dirt path and into the doors. The large fan inside greets them with a low hum before the waiter does.  
"Good morning fellas! How are you this fine day? Follow me please." he walks them to a booth and they sit. Brock's eyes wander, searching for the girl fro mthe night before. Was she working? He looks up at the waiter.  
"Do you already know what you would like?" he asks them.  
Ash nods. "Blueberry pancakes and a side of sausage, please!" Pikachu looks overjoyed. The waiter turns to Brock, who quickly grabs the menu.  
This diner had everything and anything. Pancakes, eggs, biscuits, scones, bagels, calamari?  
No thanks.  
"I'll just have the same." he says finally, the waiter nodding. "Two blueberry pancakes, side of sausage, yes?"  
The boys nod. "Be back in a jiff."  
_A jiff? What the hell is a jiff?_ Brock is irritated. _Where is she?_ He looks around the diner, somewhat frantic.

"She's probably not working, stalker."  
Brock looks at him. "Thanks."  
They sit quietly for a while before the waiter brings them their pancakes, and two glasses of milk.

The pancakes were huge. The fluffiest pancakes you could ever imagine. Like clouds, sprinkled with little blueberries - little raindrops in the clouds of dough.  
They both dug in like they've never eaten before. They were done within minutes. How could you _not_ scarf down the most delicious pancakes ever made?  
The waiter watches afar, eyes bugged. _What pigs._

The boys didn't notice, but they couldn't care less anyway. They'd probably never see any of these people again anyway. What they thought of them didn't matter.  
The waiter saunters over, somewhat nauseated from watching them basically swallow their meals whole. "All done, guys?" he nods.  
The boys nod back. Ash pats his stomach. "That was _amazing_."  
"Best pancakes I've ever had." Brock adds.  
The waiter smiles fakely. "We've got some great cooks in the back." he hands them the check. "Just pay up at the register. Have a great day!" he takes their dishes and walks away. They stand, and split the tab. Brock gives Ash some money, and says he'll meet him outside. Ash walks up to the register as Brock steps outside.

_I'd like to see her at least more time._ He thought to himself, _at least._

He'd like to do more than see her, but he didn't want to think about that. Getting an erection in public was more than embarrassing. Then imagine if, during, he saw her? That'd be worse!  
Ash opens the door behind him, Pikachu on his shoulder. "Ready?"  
Brock nods. And they're off to Viridian Forest at last.

**BROCK  
**_I honestly can't stop thinking about that damn girl. She's so much hotter than any other I've seen. In a nonchalant way, though. I don't think she knows how good looking she is. She's probably one of those humble girls, on the outside, but a real freak when you get them locked in a bedroom. All the shy girls are. Not that I suspect she's like all the rest, but, they usually are like that. I wouldn't mind if she was; the freaky ones are my favorite. They go along with more. They let me do the weird shit, and do it right back. That's good. Gets me off just by thinking about it.  
__But, really, she was gorgrous.  
__I'm still very excited to be going home. I've missed everyone so much, especially (can you believe it) Mom. Seeing Ash and his mom together has made me miss being a child. I wish I could still be a child, go home to Mommy, have her make me dinner and cuddle me while I tell her about all my adventures around the world.  
__But, my family just isn't like that. Sure, they're loving, and we all care about each other, we'd give our lives for one another, but we've (they've) never been the type to go all ape shit when I did something awesome, hug me when I got straight A's, hold me when I was scared of the monsters in my closet. No, they got me a pokemon for protection. That's the one thing I would change about my family if I could. I love them, and I know they love me, but I wish they'd be more showing, aside from my parents, who are pretty much down each other's throats at any given moment. Like when they left me with all the kids. I was too young to do that shit, but I did it anyway. They needed me. And, that's all helped me get where I am today. Aspired me to be the caretaker of not only people, but pokemon as well. I like to take care of people.  
__Especially when they show they appreciate it._

**ASH  
**_Brock's acting like a little baby. We're on our way to Pewter, so he can see his family, but all he cares about is girls. It's annoying. He focuses on his food recipes, on helping pokemon, and making them happy, but other than that it's like he has no room in his brain for anything except girls. Get over it dude. He's awesome but, it gets on my nerves when he'd rather talk about girls than anything else. So dumb.  
__Like that girl at the diner. He keeps talking about how he wants to find her again. Who cares? She's just a girl. Yeah, I thought she was cute, but really, it's not like she was a goddess, he'll find some other girl he likes better, sweep her off to somewhere secluded, screw her, then we'll be on our way. It happens all the time, never ends. I think he liked the girl at the diner because she was average. Like, not average looking, but, she was just a normal girl. She's not anything great or anything. Not a breeder, not a cop, just a normal girl working a normal job doing normal things. He hasn't had many of those. He probably has fantasized about her in bed already. He woke up with a boner this morning. Gross._

**PIKACHU  
**_Pika pikachu pi cha. Cha pika pi ka ka pi. Chu pika pi chu pikacha pika pi. Pika pika pi, cha pikachu.  
__Ka.. pikachu. Chaaaa.._


	3. Please Read!

***Before I continue this story, I would like to clear a few things up.  
****1.) I do NOT own the rights to Pokemon, any Pokemon characters in this story, or anything Pokemon related.  
****2.) OCs are obviously created by me.  
****3.) The ages of the (human) Pokemon characters here are older (which is kind of necessary), ages are the following;  
****Ash: 16/17 (take your pick, or you can go with 16 and a half)  
****Brock: 20  
****Misty: 18**

**And all characters other than those are assumed older also, considering they have **_**returned**_** to Kanto after their journeys. You can use your imagination as a number for them all don't really matter much, just as long as you get the idea. The ages of my own characters should be obvious considering the people they will interact with.  
****That's all :} **

**Thanks so much for reading *  
****(and please, feel free to give any suggestions, or share what you'd like to see!)**


	4. Back to the Viridian Forest

They didn't really notice they were in the Viridian Forest until they realized there was nothing but trees surrounding them. It brought memories back to Ash, but not to Brock, as he hadn't been there before. Not that it mattered. All that were in there were bug pokemon and shit, right? Not his thing. Now, if they were going through Rock Tunnel, or Mt. Moon, that'd be different.  
Not that he didn't have pokemon that weren't rock type. He just preferred to. He actually didn't have most of his rock pokemon, as he left them with Forrest the last time he came home. He hoped they were doing alright. Hope Mom didn't turn the gym into a pool again. That would be a disaster. Poor Forrest, if so. He struggled so hard to keep the gym the way it was, and was so upset the first time Mom changed it to water type. He was great though, sticking his ground. Stubborn. That'll do him well in life, though it could also be his downfall, like Brock.  
Brock had a problem with people. A deep rooted trust issue with people. Explainable, even to him, considering what his parents did to him, especially at such a young age. He didn't really trust anybody; his parents, people he met, his friends, anybody. Of course, he trusts Ash, but that was about it. He loves his parents, but, how can you trust people who have just flat out abandoned you before? How can you trust they won't do it again? Simple, you can't. Stay on your toes always. Never let your guard down, never let anyone in. That was his motto.  
Of course, he had some acceptions. He let some details about his life slip to some girls he's been with. Girls he'll never see again, or hear from, so they ultimately don't really matter. And, obviously, Ash. His best friend. Pretty much the only person he had as a constant in his life, who he knew wouldn't just abandon him. Ash was always so reliable, and honest, especially for a kid. He had a huge heart.  
It'll bite him in the ass someday. It has before, but it'll get ihm big time. He lets everyone in like he's not scared to be hurt. Though, he doesn't really have any reason to be scared. No one's ever truly hurt him before. At least not the way they've hurt Brock. Which sucks, because Brock would kill to be open and honest and loving like Ash. Talk to people he barely knew (who weren't female, who he couldn't actually sleep with) (or he could, but would refuse to), make friends that would actually remember him if he saw them again randomly. They always remember Ash. Never Brock.  
Was he just not memorable? Didn't leave a lasting impression? Did he come off as cold? He didn't try to, but how can you keep everyone out and seem nice at the same time?

"Piiiidge!"  
A gust of wind blows them all over. They jump up, and something swoops down over their heads.  
"Piii pikachu!" Pikachu shouts, his cheeks beginning to spark. The boys stand up as the Pidgey above them swoops at them again. They duck.  
"What the hell!" Ash shouts, "What's going on? What did we do?" they all cover their heads as it swoops again, scratching them with its talons.  
Pikachu grows increasingly angry at this Pidgey, attacking Ash. He didn't do anything wrong!  
Brock grabs the straps of his backpack, holding on to them tightly. Pidgey throws a gust of wind at them, and they stand their ground.  
"Shoo! Go away!" Ash says. _I could just catch it, but I already had a Pidgey..  
_"Pikachu, use a light thundershock! Maybe it'll leave us alone!"  
Pikachu obliges, and sends out a pathetic bolt of thunder at the bird. It doesn't even flinch, and screeches. "Piiiiiidgey!"  
It only got angrier. Swooping down again, this time at an angle, for what looks like and Aerial Ace attack.  
"Pikachu! Use quick attack and a thunderbolt! Stop it in it's tracks!"  
Pikachu charges up, hands on his cheeks. Finally, he's ready. "Piiiiiiiiiiiikachu!" he runs toward the Pidgey when suddenly,

"Stop that!"  
"Pi!" Pikachu stops, looking around. The Pidgey stops the attack also, hovering in the air. A small girl runs out into the opening, and Pidgey comes down, perching on her shoulder. She glares at Pikachu, then at Ash and Brock. "How dare you attack my Pidgey like that!"  
"W-what?" Ash sputters, shocked. "That Pidgey attacked us!"  
"My Pidgey would never! You mean people need to get out of here, or it will attack you!"  
"Hey, miss, we're only passing through," Brock offers, but this little tyke wasn't having it.  
"Get. Out!"

"Hey!" they hear. A woman's soft scold, to the little girl. A Bulbasaur enters the clearing, followed by a girl, much older than the small one, and she looks from the small girl to Ash. "What's going on here?"  
"That Pidgey attacked us! We had to fight back, it wouldn't stop! But someone here is convinced their Pidgey would never!" Ash shouts, angry.  
"He wouldn't!"" the little girl stomps, and strokes her precious bird's head. The older girl puts her hand on the younger one's shoulder. "Alright. Let me talk, please."  
The younger girl nods. The older girl, followed by the Bulbasaur, walk over to the boys. "May I ask what happened?" she asks.  
"Like I just said. That Pidgey came out of nowhere and attacked us! I could've lost my head to that thing!"  
Brock swooned. This woman in front of him - like no other. Not like any Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny he's seen in his day. She seemed to glide over to them, like an angel, so elegant. Her hair was long, past her shoulders, light brown, and shone in the sun. Her eyes were brighter than any of the trees or grass in the forest they stood in. They kind of looked the same as the girl from the diner's..  
Wait. Woah. Wait a second! It was her! This was the girl from the diner! He didn't realize it because her hair! It was up when she was working at the diner. Probably because it was so long (and beautiful)..  
_Oh how I'd like to run my fingers through that.  
_Wait. It was her!

He steps forward. "You're the girl from the diner!" he exclaims. And she tilts her her, furrowing her brow. "Um.. have we met?" she looks from him to Ash, and Ash squints. Was it really her? She didn't look like the girl from the diner. How does Brock see these things?  
Pikachu jumps up, "Piii pika pi!"  
She looks down and smiles. "Oh! Oh gosh! Hi!" she crouches down and strokes his head, and he smiles in return, closing his eyes. The rub felt good.  
She looks back up at them. "I remember you guys now!" she stands. "You had the pulled pork." she looks at Brock. He nods. "Yes, I did."  
Ash couldn't believe it. Seriously? He was hoping they could avoid the topic of this girl from now on. Apparently not. Now, after they say their goodbyes, all he's going to hear about is her. How beautiful she is, how she glows, how bright her eyes are..  
No, but really, she was sort of really good looking, now that he's staring. The hair probably did it. It was long now, not tied up all on her head like an old woman.

Her smile made her eyes shine brighter. "Imagine seeing you two again! I apologize for my sister," she looks over her shoulder at the little girl, now playing on the ground with Pidgey, "she overreacts sometimes, just like her pokemon."  
"Bul-ba." Bulbasaur nods. Ash looks down, thinking of his own Bulbasaur, who was still at Professor Oak's. He didn't even take any of his old Pokemon with him. He started to regret that decision. Maybe they should go back? Or ask Professor to send a few his way? That sounded like an awesome idea. Maybe he'll even get his Bulbasaur. He hadn't seen him in a while. He didn't even go visit them while in Pallet. How absentminded of him.  
Who would he send to Professor Oak, then? Maybe Torterra? Grass type for a grass type? Maybe he'd swap all his pokemon for another, for now. Who could he get? Cyndaquil for Infernape? Totodile for Buizel? It's possible. He'd have to think about it. He did miss his old pokemon, though, his old friends.

Speaking of old friends, seemed like Brock was trying to make a new one. He was still apologizing for Pikachu attacking the Pidgey, which was stupid, seeing as Pidgey attacked them. Ash rolled his eyes. _Just trying to get a screw. Typical.  
_Brock's flattery seemed to be somewhat effective against this girl, as she giggled like she was the age as the one behind her, who was still tending to her Pidgey. Bulbasaur and Pikachu had begun to talk with one another. Ash was standing there, alone.  
Instead of implanting himself in the conversation, he just watched. Observed Brock, observed the girl, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur. Thought of his own pokemon, sitting home at Professor Oak's, wondered if they missed him. He missed them.  
_I wish I could have them all with me, all the time.  
_The girl turns to Ash. "You alright?" she offers a small smile. Ash nods, "Yeah, I was just thinking about something."  
Brock turns around. "What about?"  
Now he's going to have to explain. Ugh. _Can't we just go now?_ "I didn't swap out any pokemon with Professor Oak."  
"Oh!" the girl exclaims excitedly, "You know the Professor?"  
Ash nods, "Yeah, why? He's who gave me my buddy Pikachu here." he squatted down and pets Pikachu on the head. Pikachu loves it. "Pikaaa!" Ash stands up.  
"He gave me my Bulbasaur.."  
_Wait. What? That's not my Bulbasaur, right? No. He knew better than to give my pokemon away. Plus, we would've recognized each other.  
_"..he said there was another Bulbasaur there who kept nagging her, so he offered her to me to look after."  
_Another Bulbasaur?_  
"Another Bulbasaur?" he looked to Brock. Brock laughs, and then so does he. "It must have been mine! Chasing after lady Bulbasaurs, huh? That little devil."  
Bulbasaur sighs.

"I was actually thinking about asking Professor to send my Bulbasaur to me, and have him take care of my Torterra for a while-"  
"YOU HAVE A TORTERRA?" she exclaims, wide eyed. "Can I see it? Please?"  
Ash is taken aback. He's never seen someone so excited to see a pokemon before. "Uh, sure, no problem." he grabs his pokeball, "Torterra, come on out!"  
The pokemon appears, looking around. He'd never seen this area before. Where were they? He greets Pikachu, and looks at Bulbasaur, interested. Bulbasaur looks back, almost as wide eyed as her trainer.  
The girl bops over to the huge pokemon. "Oh my - wow! I've heard about Torterras, from my cousins in Sinnoh, but wow, he's beautiful!"  
Torterra appreciates the attention, smiling at her. She reaches up and somewhat pats his head. "You are amazing! Wow.."  
"You like pokemon a lot, huh?" Brock says, admiring her love toward the big guy, _What an awkward pokemon to be amazed by_.  
The girl turns back, "That's an understatement. I love pokemon. I want to be the best grass pokemon trainer to ever live." she puts her hands on her hips. "I plan on acheiving that goal.." she looks over at her sister, who was now standing, not willing to move toward the continent of a pokemon standing next to her sibling.  
"Eventually." she shrugs, and looks back at the boys. "I have other duties. How about coming back to my place for a bit of a treat, hm?" she raises her hands as to say, _Do you have a reason not to come?_ and the boys shrug in response. Ash sighs. _At least she likes pokemon. So we do have something in common.  
_Ash returns Torterra into his pokeball, and the younger girl lets out a deep breath. The taller sister laughs. "Alright, Tilly, c'mon, let's go home."  
The little girl and Pidgey run back in the direction they came from, deeper into the thick. The girl follows slowly, Bulbasaur beside her, and Pikachu beside her. The boys walk a short distance behind them. Ash catches Brock's eyes in the same place as the diner, and elbows him. "I saw that."  
"Come on," he hisses, "it's beautiful!"

In front of them appears a small plantation full of flowers and berries, and behind that a small cabin. The girl turns around, continuing to walk backwards, and motions to the house. "Home sweet home." she turns back around,  
"Watch out!" Brock shouts, reaching ahead and grabbing her waist as she began to trip over the six, small, pink eggs in front of her.  
The Exeggcute, unphased, hops around at her feet, happy to see her. She and Brock look into each others eyes for a minute before she smiles sweetly, and clears her throat. "Um.."  
"Oh, sorry." Brock stands her up straight, releasing her. She drops down onto her knees, welcoming the Exeggcute into her arms.  
"Eggsa! Eggsa!" the seedy eggs cry. She laughs. "Alright you guys, we have some guests.." the Exeggcute look at the boys and squint their eyes, glaring at them. Pikachu looks at Ash, nervous. "Piiika pi.."  
Ash shrugs. Pikachu hops onto his shoulder. Bulbasaur waves a vine at Exeggcute and they all smile, then hop away, happy again. The girl grins at the yard, proud.  
"I'm in this garden every day," she says, leading them toward the house, "of course, the pokemon help." she motions to a Lombre watering some flowers with it's Water Gun, a Bellsprout plucking berries with it's vines. Brock nods, impressed. "This is awesome! I might have to snatch some berries off you for some food I'm making.."  
"Food?" she asks, looking at him. They arrive at the front door, and he tells her he makes food for pokemon, and berries improve the taste, depending on what the pokemon eating it enjoys. Her jaw drops. "That's incredible! Do you mind giving me a little sample?" she looks down at Bulbasaur, "What do you think, wanna try some?"  
Bulbasaur tilts her head as to say, "Sure, why not?"

Brock smiles. "Yeah. I'd love to give you some." _You can give me some, too..of what's underneath those clothes.  
_She opens the front door, inviting them in. Once they're all inside, she shuts the door, and takes off the apron she had been wearing, hanging it on a coat rack by the door. She takes her shoes off, and the boys do the same. Bulbasaur wipes her feet on the mat, and Pikachu copies what she does. They walk into a kitchen.  
"Mom, Pop! I'm home!" she looks at the sink. Dishes are piled up. She sighs. "Not again.. I just cleaned this morning.."  
"Your parents made all those dishes?" Ash gives her a strange look. _What are they, Mamoswines?  
_She sighs again. "No.. my parents always have guests over. They try to network with people in different cities, areas," she turns on the sink and starts to wash the dishes, "as we're not doing so well here..money-wise. They've been trying to get into the trading business, you know, so that we can get out our rare berries and such and make money.."  
She shrugs. Ash frowns. "That really sucks, I'm sorry. Is there anything we can do to help?"  
This girl seemed to have a lot more on her plate then she seemed to.

"Honestly, no. I wish I had help. My parents are never home, and when they are, they just make a mess.. I have to take care of Tilly and the house, and all the pokemon, with my job down at the diner.. it's really a pain. But, I've got to do it."  
Brock knew how she felt. Having to take care of everything with absent parents. It's really the worst. He walked over to her, rolling up his sleeves. "Here, move over." he says. She looks at him strangely. "What..?"  
He takes the sponge from her. "Go sit down, you seem to need a break."  
She smiles, this time glowing, not like the other times she's smiled at him. A genuinely happy smile.  
"Wow. Thanks. You're great." She dried her hands and sat behind him at the kitchen table. Ash joined her, and they started talking..  
About pokemon. Ash's and Brock's journey through Johto, Sinnoh - the friends they've made, people they've met, pokemon they've come across. About the family this girl has in Sinnoh, who she barely sees. They are apparently much wealthier than her immediates, and weren't very willing to share.  
"Sure, they've helped out here and there. But, it's mostly because my grandfather didn't want my uncle to go into the berry business, said it's not his place. But, it was my uncle's dream, and so since my grandfather let my father go into the berry business, he resents my father for it - not my grandfather."  
"Well, he could have just done it anyway, followed his own dream, he didn't have to listen to your grandfather." Ash suggests, and the girl nods. "I suppose, though family is very important to us. The word of another relative is like, the law, basically."  
Ash nods back. "Yeah, I guess I see what you mean then. But that's no reason to be stingy to your dad though. His own brother."  
"Mhm. But, that's life, and we deal with it. We still all talk, and they aren't mean or anything to us, and have helped us in times of need.." she thinks back on when her family was in a huge amount of debt last year. "They've given us money."

Brock turns off the sink, finished with the dishes. He dries the last plate, putting it in the strainer. He dries his hands and joins the two at the table, and smiles at the girl.  
"All done." he says.  
"Thank you so much," she pauses. "Wait. I haven't even asked your names!"  
They all laugh in disbelief, that this entire time they hadn't even introduced each other.  
Ash introduced himself - Ash Ketchum - said he wants to become the world's greatest trainer and travel the world finding new pokemon. The girl says she admires that, that it's incredible he gets to travel as much as he does, and with pokemon. "And you have that incredible Torterra. And you've got a Bulbasaur, too!"  
"And a Chikorita. Who, well, is now a Bayleef..she's with Professor Oak, too."  
The girl's eyes sparkle with excitement. "That's incredible! You have so many awesome grass pokemon.. I'm so jealous."  
"Bul-baaa!" Bulbasaur is appalled.  
The girl looks down and laughs. "But not better than the ones I've got here, right Bulbasaur?"  
Bulbasaur nods in agreement.  
Brock grows increasingly annoyed. Wasn't she going to ask his name? After he just washed those damn dishes for her? What the hell? Ash didn't even want to see her again, wasn't interested, even said something earlier about not caring and how Brock would just find another girl to take to bed. So, what is this? The tables have turned?  
He could see the interest in Ash's eyes. Little boy lust. A crush. This is stupid, and annoying. He looks at the girl, about to say something when-

"Fern? Fern honey, is that you?" a woman calls. The girl at the table rolls her eyes, chuckling. "Yes, mom, we're in the kitchen!"  
The woman walks into the kitchen, surprised at what she sees. "Oh, sweetheart, I didn't know you had company!"  
Fern stands, walking over, embracing in a hug with the woman. "Yes, hi Mom. I met these interesting people at work yesterday, and just ran into them in the forest. You know Tilly, always making some sort of scene."  
Her mother shrugs.  
"_No, then again, you wouldn't know,_ Fern says in her head, _because you're never around.  
_"Are you going to introduce us, then?" the woman asks. Fern nods, turning to the table. "Yes, well, this is Ash, he trains pokemon too! He even has some awesome grass types."  
Her mother smiles, "Ah, grass type. Fern's absolute favorite. Ever since that Oddish.."  
Fern grins. "Where is he?"  
"I don't know, probably stinking up the place somewhere."  
Fern stands up, "Oh stop it mother, Gloom doesn't even smell!" she walks into the other room. "Gloom! Gloom? Where are you?"  
No answer. She comes back in, and looks at Brock.  
"Oh, I'm sorry.. we got so caught up, I didn't even ask your name.." she smiles sweetly, mouth closed, tilting her head slightly.  
"Brock." he says coldly. She takes notice, but doesn't say anything.  
"Nice to meet you both." her mother says cheerfully. They nod back. "You too." Ash says.

She looks at Fern. "Your father and I are leaving again tomorrow. We're headed for Olivine. Johto, again.. I swear, it's like we're there every day."  
_You're telling me_. Fern sighs. "Alright. When will you be back, do you think?"  
Her mother shrugs. "Not quite sure, but, you've got it all under control, right sweetie? I can never tell what your father has planned.." she looks out the window and sighs. She looks at the boys. "Are you staying the night?"  
They look outside. Pitch black! When did it get so late?  
Brock was disappointed. This entire visit to her house started out so well, and went to total shit. No way did he want to stay here, but, no way did he want to venture off into the woods in the dark. He shrugs, looking at Ash, who says, "We didn't plan on it, but if you don't mind sparing a room.."  
The woman clapped cheerfully. "Absolutely. I'll go get blankets for you!"  
Fern sat back down with them at the table. "Do you guys want some dinner?"  
Ash nodded. Brock didn't say anything. Fern took notice. "Brock, would you mind sharing some of your pokemon food with Bulbasaur? I'm sure she'll love it."  
Brock shrugs. "Sure, of course." He got down on his knees on the floor and took out some food, and a dish. He put a little onto the dish, then the dish onto the floor. Bulbasaur took a bite after reassurance from Pikachu, who took a piece himself.

She loved it. After her first bite, she pretty much swallowed the plate whole. Fern laughs. "Aw, Brock, looks like you have a new customer!"  
Brock smiles. A fake smile. He's still annoyed. Mostly with Ash, but with her, too. It was like she was beating him at his own game, but she didn't even know it. She was a tease, or, she didn't even care one bit about him even existing.  
_I can't believe she forgot to ask my name.  
_Fern stood. "What would you two prefer to eat? We don't have much.." she opened the fridge. They had literally nothing. A few bottles of water, some bread, and vegetables. She sighs. "I could make a salad.. but that's about all we have food for.." she looks at them sincerely, "I'm sorry."  
She's embarrassed. Why was her life like this? Why did she have to do everything? Take care of Tilly like she was her mother, work almost every day just to keep the farm alive, while her parents were off doing who-knows-what off in who-knows-where. What was it doing for their business? Sure, they made a little extra money, but it seemed whatever they were doing wasn't doing much. It was starting to get upsetting to Fern. She lived her whole life in their garden, helping the family, doing anything she could to assist. She didn't have a life. She didn't have anything. She had her pokemon, and that was it. She was pathetic.

The boys said salad was okay. They both could see how upset she was getting. She drearily chopped up the lettuce, looked like she was about to sob slicing cucumbers. Adding the dressing, she gave the boys each a fork and placed the large bowl in front of them. She smiled weakly. "Eat up. I assume you guys need your energy for tomorrow's trek through the forest."  
They dig in as she stands in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. Brock hears her sigh, and looks up. As angry as he still was, she knew she was stressed. And, he knew what it felt like. She had nobody, and he knew that. He could relate.  
"Hey, Fern, come sit down." he offered. She shook her head. "No, thanks, Brock. I think I'm going to go find Gloom."  
She walked off, leaving the boys, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur in the kitchen alone. Bulbasaur seemed to get sad seeing her sad. She stopped eating, the mouth on her light green face becoming more and more a frown. She lays on the floor. "Saur..." she sighs. Pikachu looks at her. "Pi?"  
"Saur.." she says again. They have a small conversation, the boys struggling to figure out about what.  
Ash feels bad for Fern. He's never seen someone look so down, and have it read so plainly on their face. She was way more than she seemed; Brock was right to have a thing for her. And, she was hot, and got hotter the more Ash looked at her. But, Brock saw her first, wanted her first. So, the friend code is in place. She's Brock's. After all, there will be other girls for Ash. Too much stuff to do to worry about women.  
Fern's mother walks back into the kitchen. "Alright, we have the spare room downstairs and the office upstairs that has a futon you can pull out. They're both stocked with pillows and blankets.." she noticed someone was missing. "Where's Fern?"  
The boys shrug. "She said she was going to find Gloom." Brock says. Her mother sighs. "Oh, that girl.. and that Gloom. Such a strange pair."  
Bulbasaur pouts. There was obviously some sort of rivalry between her and Gloom.

The woman says goodnight, says she needs to head to bed so she can be up for her flight to Olivine tomorrow - business affairs. Says she hopes she sees them again sometime, says it's nice to have met them, and goes upstairs after telling them where they can find each of the rooms they will be staying in.  
Bulbasaur heads off somewhere, and Ash and Pikachu decide to take the futon upstairs, leaving Brock downstairs in the spare bedroom, alone. Alone to think. Alone to dream. Alone to vent. Silently, of course, but he could let off some steam from today. Everything that happened went in one big circle. Meeting an amazingly beautiful girl, to losing her, thinking he'll never see her again, to seeing Nurse Joy (who looked wonderful as ever, of course), to having Ash tell him how stupid he is for wanting to see Fern again. Getting assaulted by a random Pidgey, who belonged to a random girl, who ended up being the sibling of a not-so-random other girl..  
And then, Ash, the one who kept telling him to get over her, starts talking to her like they've been life long pals. As always. Sure, Ash was awesome, but could he tone down the friendly a little sometimes? Maybe let Brock get the spotlight for once?  
But, Ash didn't have to do that. Being likable just came naturally to him. He can relate to everybody. Unlike Brock, the introvert strange one, who likes to stay out of the way, not bring too much attention to himself. Still, it'd be nice if for once, he got the attention.. for once..

There was a slight tap on his bedroom door. Confused, he called out in a whisper, "Who is it..?"  
"It's me, Fern." she says from behind the slab of wood.  
"Can I come in?"


	5. Forest of the Mind

Fern didn't stay long. All she wanted to know was why Brock had gotten so cold so suddenly early that day. And, he told her he just wasn't feeling well.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "was it from the salad, do you think?"  
He said no when he say the embarrassment in her eyes. He felt so bad for her, he wanted to wrap her up in his arms and give her everything the world had to offer. But, he couldn't. All he could do was apologize for his stupidity.  
"No, don't be sorry," he replied. "I just think maybe I'm homesick."  
Her eyes had lit up at this. Not in happiness, just interest. "Where do you live? Around here?"  
He nodded. "Pewter City, actually. Not that I live there, anymore."  
She smiled. "I've been there. It's a nice place. I went to bring some berries to the food mart there, I heard the gym was having pokemon issues."

Brock panicked. "What? What do you mean?"  
She laughed and said, "I guess the guy who ran the place's wife came back and decided she wanted it to be a water gym." She laughed again. Brock's heart relaxed. He thought maybe she had gone recently, and something happened there. What would he have done? What if he had gone to Pewter, and it was just one big disaster?  
He had no idea. But, to imagine, they were both in Pewter at the same time. He could have met her, could have saw her, something. So strange to think, they were both in the same place before, and never met.  
He smiled. "I actually used to run the gym."  
Fern's eyes bulged. "What?"  
He nodded. He wanted to go into detail, but didn't think this was the right time. Plus, he was still a bit pissed at her, and she was a stranger after all. No need to spill all the details. "Well, my mom left one day to go pursue her dream of being a water trainer. And, well, my dad followed soon after, leaving me to tend to the gym and my little brothers and sisters."  
"How many siblings do you have?"  
"Nine."  
"WOW!" she slammed her hands on the bed where they were sitting. "That's so many! I thought Tilly was a handful!"  
Brock laughed. "My Tilly is a handful as well."  
Fern looked confused at that comment, and he cleared it up quickly. "My youngest sister. Her name is Tilly, too."  
Fern smiled her toothy smile, meaning she was genuinely astounded. "That's so strange. And coincidental."  
He nodded. "Yeah, it really is. Not exactly a common name, either."  
"So, your parents finally came back, I'm guessing?" she tilted her head. Brock felt bad answering this one. Though his parents came back, and let him leave, he didn't think Fern's parents would be so lenient. She'd be stuck in this little cottage forever. He smiled sympathetically, almost pitying her.  
"Yeah, my dad did, and told me to go. When I came back for a visit, my mom was there too. It was actually when they were having pokemon problems."

She smiled her toothy smile again, hitting his leg playfully. It sent chills up both legs, all the way to his center. He struggled to keep that, and the frog in his throat, down.  
"Are you serious, we were both in the same place at the same time? That's nuts!"  
She left a little before the sun came up, allowing Brock a few hours to sleep. He knew Ash wasn't going to stick around in this little forest for long, especially in this little house. He was going to have to say goodbye to Fern in the morning.  
_

Ash awoke to the smell of something familiar.  
_Bacon!  
_He jumps out of makeshift bed, an extremely comfortable futon, waking Pikachu, who smelt the bacon as well. They ran out the office together and downstairs.  
There was Fern, standing in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. She looked refreshed, her cheeks a light pink, her eyes a bit squinted as if she had just woken up.  
"Good morning, guys." she says happily, but quiet.  
"Morning!" Ash says loudly, pulling a chair out from the table. Fern shushes him, and he looks at her, as to say, "what?"  
"Brock and my family are still sleeping," she says quietly, "I don't want to wake them all."

Ash nods. How could he be the only one who smelt this amazing breakfast? He looks at the stove. Pancakes, eggs, bacon _and_ from the looks of it, sausage links.  
"Where'd you get the food?" he asked, voice lowered. She kept cooking, and didn't look back at him. "I ran to the store last night. I got back late. I wanted to make sure you guys had something filling before you left."  
Ash smiled on the inside. She was such a nice girl, much nicer than most they've come across. Sure, people welcomed them into their home to stay, but not for no apparent reason. Usually they offered a place to stay if Ash assisted them, but not Fern. She welcomed them into her home with open arms for nothing; just to be kind. It's a shame such a sweet girl like her has to stay here and take care of her little sister while her parents travel everywhere, having all the fun. She does everything around the house and for the family, and they were never home. She deserved more. She must be close to Brock's age, there was no reason she shouldn't have left yet. Shameful that her parents make her do everything.  
"Fern," Ash says to her, and she turns around, looking at him. "Yes?"  
"Come with us today."  
She looks at him like he's crazy. "Um, Ash, in case you weren't aware, I have a life here. I can't just up and leave."  
"Fern, you've been here for long enough. You do everything. Tell your parents you can't do it anymore."  
She shakes her head. "Ash, I can't just abandon my family."  
His shoulders drop. She wasn't getting it. She wasn't abandoning anything; they were the ones letting her down. She had to see that somehow. He'd make her see it.  
"It's not like that, that's not what I meant. Ask your parents if they could stay with your sister for a while, and you can come travel Kanto with us. We're not going anywhere else, and you'll be home soon. We have to come back to Viridian anyway."  
Fern shrugs. He made it sound so simple. But, it really wasn't.. was it? She had to take care of Tilly, her parents had things to do.. whatever those things were.  
Though, they had really been pissing her off. They were losing money from them constantly travelling, for no reason. They didn't bring berries with them, they didn't do anything. They were spending money going places and not getting it back, but Fern had to work almost every day just to pay the bills for them, pay for Tilly's things, everything.  
She smiles sweetly at Ash. "You make it so tempting Ash, really. To roam Kanto with some friends and my pokemon.. that'd be great."

"Then do it." they look up. It's Brock. "If it sounds right to you, then it's what you should do. Tell your parents, you're too old to be kept here, and it's been long enough. You need to get out, and live your own dream while they tend to their's."

Ash nods, "Agreed!"  
Fern, not responding, turns back around and flips the pancakes. She watches them bubble on the bottoms. How could she just leave? What would they do? What would Tilly do? Her parents knew close to nothing about her. _I suppose they could learn..  
_"Mmm those smell great," Brock says, walking over and standing next to her. "Can't wait to have some." He bumps her lightly to show he understood what was going through her mind. And, she knew he did, from the story he told her last night, about how he finally got the guts to tell his father he was leaving them to pursue his dream to become a pokemon breeder. It was so inspirational, almost motivating enough to tell her own parents that she wants to leave too.  
But, they'd for sure say no. They had to travel to Olivine today, for business. Whatever business it was they did there.  
She wanted so badly to leave. She really did. But she had her job, she had the pokemon and the farm to tend to. And, she had Tilly. If she left, she'd be abandoning Tilly, and she didn't trust her parents to take care of her. Sure, they had raised her, Fern, but they didn't know Tilly! She would pretty much be placed in the hands of strangers, and it scared Fern. She sighs.

"Wow, Ferny, those smell fantastic!"  
They all look, and a tall, grey-haired man with a large mustache is standing there, fully dressed in khaki pants and a tucked in shirt. He had no shoes on, though that was expected, since they took all their shoes off at the door.  
"Morning Pop. Where's Mom, still sleeping?"  
Her father shook his head, "No, you know your mother, constantly primping."  
Fern shrugs. _No, I don't know my mother. Not anymore.  
_"Where's Tilly?" she asked him.  
He shrugs, "No clue!" he laughs boisterously. And that was when she knew.

He didn't even know where is seven year old daughter was? How ridiculous! Had he no responsibility? How old was he? Did they just think she was some sort of nanny, catering to their every need, taking care of their youngest child as if she wasn't even theirs?  
No. This had gone to far. Fern clenches her fists, and Brock notices. He knew what was coming, and he lit up on the inside. He might not have to say goodbye after all.

They were all eating breakfast at the table: Ash, Brock, Fern, her parents, and Tilly. The pancakes were just like at the diner; fluffy and light, like clouds. They were blueberry-less, but that was alright, since they had the eggs, sausage, and bacon as well.

Ash ate the majority of the bacon. It had been so long since he's had it and it was spectacular. Crispy and crunchy, but juicy all the while, just as bacon should be. He looks at Fern and notices she's barely touched her pancakes, the only thing she could eat since she didn't eat meat. Ash rolls his eyes. The whole no-meat thing was psychotic. No meat? None of the greatest food to ever exist?  
Brock was nervous. Nervous for Fern, because he knew what was coming. There would be an argument as soon as she says she wants to go. They will tell her no, and she will fight back, saying it's about time she left. They will express their concerns and she will assure them she'll be alright, that she has her pokemon, and her pokemon will back her up no matter what. Even her parents knew that, they've said so themselves. She'll promise to write and call and they will either give her the finally word: the finally answer. Yes, or no.  
But, not only was he nervous for her, but nervous for himself. If she came with them, he'd have to watch his every move. If he wanted to crack her shell, he had to study her, figure out what she likes, what she doesn't like, and work her until she opens up. In more ways than one.

Fern clears her throat. It was happening.  
"Mom, Pop?" she says. All five people sitting around her look up, waiting for her to continue. They swallow their food.  
"Yes, honey?" her mother asks. "Everything alright?"  
Brock winced. This was the worst question. Fern could easily back out with a "yeah, everything's fine, nevermind". But, will she?  
"Um.." she mumbles.

Brock was so nervous he could vomit. She was going to say nevermind.  
That was when she spat it all out. "No, nothing's alright, I need to get out of here, I want to be a pokemon trainer and I need to get out of here, and Ash and Brock invited me to travel Kanto with them and I really really want to-"  
"Ferny," her father says sternly. "Relax."

She exhales. Then inhales again. And then at least breathes regularly. You could tell her parents made her nervous. It was awful. She was a wreck. She looks at Tilly, then at her parents again. "Ash and Brock invited me to travel Kanto with them. An-"  
"You're leaving me?" Tilly bursted. Fern's heart dropped. "Um, no, Tilly, I-"  
"You're leaving me!" she shouted, and pushed her chair back, almost hitting Pikachu. She ran into the other room, in tears. Fern went to get up, but her father put his hand up, signaling for her to leave Tilly be. She sat back down, obeying.  
"Go on. Explain this." her father says. Fern nods slightly, obviously a mess.  
"Ash and Brock are back in Kanto, and they are travelling. They invited me to come with them, and I was wondering.."  
"So, what do you expect us to do?" he says, deeply. He was frightening. He was a big man, his voice even bigger. Fern tilted her head down, staring at her mess of mushed pancakes. She couldn't even eat them, so tried to make it look like she was by mushing them up and into a glob.  
"I think that's a wonderful idea." her mother finally says. Fern looks up, looking at her. She was smiling.  
Fern's eyes well up with tears. "You mean it, Mom?"  
Her mother nods. "Absolutely. I wanted to be a pokemon trainer when I was younger, you know that. And, I never got to follow my dreams. And, of course, I'm happy now, but, if it's what's going to make you happy.. how can I say no?"  
"Leila," her father says, "we have business-"  
"Oh stop it Rob," Fern's mother scolds. "This is our daughter."  
They fuss back and forth for a few minutes, about who would watch Tilly, who would tend to the farm. Then they look at her.  
"You'll bring your pokemon?" her father asks. Fern's tears spill from her eyes, and she nods spastically. "Yes, yes yes!"

Her mother nods, and stands up. She walks over to Fern, who also stands up, and they hug each other.  
Fern's heart was jumping like a Mexican Bean. She had never been so happy in her life. When her mother let go of her, Fern looked at Brock, smiling her toothy grin, but bigger than he had seen before. It was beautiful. It shone like the sun, if the sun looked white. She looked at Ash, then back to Brock, and to Ash again. She looked at her parents. "Thank you so much."  
Her father nods. "You better end up being the greatest pokemon trainer to ever exist." he says, firm. She grins, melting on the inside. "Oh, Daddy.."  
She runs over and hugs him.  
"Oh, and this breakfast didn't have anything to do with our decision. Although it was delicious." he says, joking.

What a relief. She had thought they were going to freak out on her. The only one who threw a fit was Tilly, which was expected, but she would get over it soon enough.  
Fern was so excited. She finally was getting to live her dream to its fullest. She was going to travel. She was going to be a pokemon trainer, get to do everything she wanted to do with her life. And she gets to do it with two really cool guys, who have some really awesome pokemon. Well, not really sure what Brock has, but still, Ash had cool pokemon, and, Brock was a pretty awesome guy, so he was bound to have cool pokemon too.  
She couldn't stop smiling. It was the greatest feeling in the world.  
But, still..  
"Who's going to work? Take care of Tilly?" she asks. Her mother shakes her head. "Don't worry about it. All you need to worry about is you, your journey, and your pokemon. And your health, of course. If you get sick I want you straight home, and if you can't then I expect a call _immediately_!" her motherly instinct was kicking it.  
Fern nods, and ran to the stairs. "I have to go pack!"  
She ran up them, not looking back at all the people laughing at her excitement.

**-  
FERN POV  
**_I'm going! I'm going to travel with Ash and Brock and I'm going to be a pokemon trainer! Can you even believe that? My parents didn't even overreact like I thought they would. They were amazing about it. At first I was concerned for Tilly, but, even after that, she said she was sorry and that she was happy I could go explore. I love that little girl, she's spectacular. She even asked if I wanted to take her Pidgey. I laughed, and had to decline. She is so adorable. After that, my mom said she wanted to give me something. She ran up to her bedroom and brought down a pokeball.  
__She said to me, "I know you are a grass type enthusiast, but I want you to have this. She is very enthusiastic, and loves everyone.. I think you'll get along with her just great."  
__It was an Eevee! I didn't even know she had one! She told me she got it in Saffron recently from some man who was angry she wasn't a fighting type. His loss. She's adorable, and so happy. I couldn't help but cry. It was such an emotional moment. My dad told me he loves me and wished me well, and told Ash and Brock if anything happened to me he'd break both their necks. They were scared half to death, I think.  
__The only problem I had at first was deciding who to bring with me. Obviously Bulbasaur, and I had to search for Gloom to tell him we were finally leaving the farm. He was excited, but not so happy to get into a pokeball. He'll be alright in there, he'll be out often anyway. I'm bringing Exeggcute, as he's also one of my closest friends. I left Bellsprout and Lombre to help around the farm, as well as some others. I figure I only need a few, after all, with Eevee that brings my total to four pokemon, which I think is good enough. _

_I'm so excited. I can't even tell you how excited I am. This is the greatest day of my life._


End file.
